Indians trade talk: Who would you trade? Francisco Mejia or Triston McKenzie

In Indians trade talk, if push comes to shove, would you rather trade top hitting prospect Francisco Mejia, or potential ace Triston McKenzie?

Time for some Indians trade talk, as fans wonder whether Cleveland will make any deals before the MLB trade deadline.

Cleveland’s minor league system has played witness to a renaissance of prospects not really seen since the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the Tribe was developing the likes of Albert Belle and Carlos Baerga, in addition to future starts acquired via trade such as Sandy Alomar and Kenny Lofton.

Chances are, if you’ve attended an Akron RubberDucks or Columbus Clippers game in the last three years, you’ve seen a lot of the players who are now on the Tribe. Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Roberto Perez are more recent names, but Corey Kluber, Josh Tomlin, Cody Allen and Carlos Carrasco also cut their teeth on the Tribe’s farm.

The point is the Tribe is enjoying its minor league fruits more than ever before, and its no coincidence that the organization’s ability to develop its own players has something to do with the franchise being in contention for a World Series title.

Must Read: 5 back-end starters the Indians should target in a trade

With the MLB trade deadline approaching, a lot of fans are wondering if front office executives Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff will make a deal to improve the team.

Some favor a small deal, such asa trading for a back-end starter, while others would like to see the Indians reach for the moon. These are the same fans irked the Tribe didn’t land Jose Quintana.

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You never know what Antoinette’s got up his sleeve. Remember the Drew Pomeranz and Alex White for Ubaldo Jimenez deal? He’s not afraid to deal.

But if you want something, you’ve got to give something up. If the wants an ace, it’s going to cost them one of their top two prospects: Catcher Francisco Mejia or pitcher Triston McKenzie.

Who would you rather see traded?

Mejia may be the best hitter in the minor leagues right now. His .332 average leads the Class AA Eastern League. He’s only 21 years old.

Plus, the Indians know their catcher position is a weak spot offensively. For as good as Yan Gomes is at throwing runners out, and that is invaluable, his bat has just been an abyss at the bottom of the lineup. He’s had one good month–May–in which he hit .279 with a .887 OPS.

He followed it up in June by hitting .200 with 21 strikeouts in 55 at bats. He’s doing slightly better in July, batting .227.

Mejia could very well be called upon to help this team down the stretch sometime in August or September. It’s been said that he still needs work defensively, but the Indians can no longer ignore his bat.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Triston McKenzie is in his first year playing in the Class A Carolina League. He’s 7-4 with a 2.91 ERA. That’s good, but this is better: McKenzie has 115 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings. In three minor league seasons, McKenzie’s fanned 236 batters in 185 innings–that’s 11.48 strikeouts per nine innings.

So put yourself in Antonetti and Chernoff’s shoes. You’ve got a chance to upgrade your rotation with the addition of an ace pitcher. The other team is asking for either Mejia or Mckenzie.

Who do you deal?

A case could be made for each, but at this point, I’d rather trade Mejia.

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District on Deck

The Indians window to win it is open now, and Mejia could help sooner than McKenzie, but I don’t understand why the Tribe has to slam the door shut on the future.

This organization got a little lucky by signing Edwin Encarnacion to a market friendly deal this past offseason. But when it comes to top of the line starting pitchers, the Indians won’t be in contention to sign one because those arms just cost too much money.

McKenzie’s already added some velocity to his fastball, which now sits in the low 90s, according to MLBPipeline.com. Chances are, he’s going to throw even faster as his body matures, which will make his already impressive curveball even tougher to hit.

Granted, he’s still a long, long way from the Major Leagues, and there are questions about durability. However, you could say the same about every prospect. You never know when injuries will creep up.

The organization already traded a top pitching prospect, Justus Sheffield, last season as part of the trade that brought Andrew Miller to Cleveland. Sheffield is rated as the Yankees sixth best prospect, according to MLBpipeline.com.

Among the Tribe’s top 10 prospects, per MLBpipeline.com, only two prospects are pitchers. One is first round pick Brady Aiken and, the other is a player at Class A Lake County named Juan Hillman.

Aiken is the former No. 1 overall pick of the Houston Astros in 2015. He didn’t sign his contract, opting to enroll in IMG Academy’s post grad program. He hurt his elbow there and required Tommy John Surgery. The Indians jumped at the chance to pick him 17th overall the following season.

Aiken is 1-10 with Lake County with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Control has been an issue, as Aiken’s issued 64 walks in 55 innings pitched. He’s only 20, and the Indians are probably taking it slowly with him coming off surgery.

Meanwhile, Hillman, who is also at Lake County, is 4-4 with a 5.44 ERA.

Next: Indians second-half predictions

As the Indians are finding out this year, you can never have enough pitching. Ultimately, that’s the reason the organization must keep McKenzie. If you’ve got a potential ace, you’ve got to develop him and make him a part of your organization for the long haul.